Bundle of Lime

One of my favorite art teachers used to say that we learn more from our failures than from our successes. (He also used to say that just because you didn't agonize over it doesn't mean it's not good art...which is my favorite take-away from his class.) This most recent silk dying attempt was successful in that I learned what doesn't quite work. However, it looks nothing like what I set out to create. I previously read through Art Cloth by Jane Dunnewold and decided to try two particular resist techniques that she discusses in Chapter 6 of her book, the first being with water-soluble glue (like Elmer's Blue School Glue) and the second being with flour paste. I started with the glue resist. Prep included laying down a sheet of wax paper to protect my work surface. I used my ironing board for this so that I could also pin down my fabric. Here's a closer picture. I originally dyed this fabric using an acid dye bath; you can find more about the pr...

I once had a conversation with my cousin about clutter and how we both tend to over-donate to Goodwill in an attempt to not end up buried alive beneath our own piles of stuff. Apparently we were subconsciously rebelling against out mothers (who are sisters) by making sure that we didn't accumulate so much stuff that it overwhelmed our respective homes. (As a disclaimer, I don't know about my aunt but my own mother has gotten this much more under control in the last few years.) I think that clutter is something that haunts and perplexes many of us on some level. For the past decade, I have lived in a very small house. It's not so small as to be considered a tiny house but many of my friends have larger apartments than my house. I joke with people that my bathroom is the size of a small walk-in closet and that my kitchen is the size of the average bathroom. However, I enjoy the small carbon footprint and the fact that my utility bills are minimal. Last summer,...

The bf and I invested in a pass to the  Henry Doorly Zoo this year through his work. This is something that he does every year but this year, we went in on it as a team so that we could visit the zoo together. He has spent enough time there that he knows the place like the back of his hand. Me, however...I think I can count the times that I have been there on one hand. It's time to change that. In the past, I always seem to have gravitated towards one location -  the Scott Aquarium . First, the penguins are there and I have always adored penguins. Second, I love the jellyfish and the leafy seadragons, just to name a few. At some point I plan to experiment with some silk dying using this image, which I took during a previous visit, as my inspiration. But I digress. On the day we chose to go most recently, the weather couldn't have been any better. In fact, quite a few others agreed with us including countless busloads of school children. The place was definitely h...